


Under a single light, why are there two shadows?

by Fadingtogold



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Gay Panic, Haunted Houses, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, the only reason for the rating is the language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26861755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fadingtogold/pseuds/Fadingtogold
Summary: As an unemployed college student, Hongjoong throws himself at whatever job is available, even if that job is at a haunted mansion and he hates everything scary. There are loads of things he expects, but one of them is not to fall in love with his partner playing a vampire and neither is to get locked in the mansion with him on halloween night.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 13
Kudos: 73
Collections: All Hallows ATEEZ Exchange





	Under a single light, why are there two shadows?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [typocryptid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/typocryptid/gifts).



> Hi everyone! Here's my entry for the All Hallows Ateez exchange. I really hope you enjoy my first published Ateez fic (I have plenty of wips). Also thanks to Typocryptid for the promt, I had a lot of fun with it and I hope it lives up to expectations!
> 
> Prompt:  
> Hongjoong, a college student who works at a haunted mansion attraction part time during the month of October, has a giant crush on his coworker, Seonghwa, who plays the vampire in the house. Halloween, after closing, and they're the last ones there, they get locked in.
> 
> The title is taken from "Monster" by RV Irene & Seulgi

Hongjoong has a love-hate relationship with halloween. He  _ loves _ any excuse to do his makeup and dress up, but he absolutely  _ hates _ scary things. It’s kind of ironic, seeing as he works part time at a haunted mansion. But, as a poor college student (who just so happens to have gotten laid off from his previous part time job), sometimes you just have to suck it up.

That is how Hongjoong finds himself in front of the  _ employees only _ entrance at the haunted mansion on October 1st.

To say that Hongjoong is nervous would be an understatement. As he walks through the corridor leading to where they’re all supposed to meet, he feels like he just wants to turn into a ball and hide somewhere.

It seems like everyone here already knows each other, sitting around the large meeting room table laughing at something that Hongjoong didn’t quite catch. 

Hongjoong’s eyes scan the people sitting around the table and on the opposite end of him sits the most beautiful man Hongjoong’s ever seen.

It doesn’t seem like he’s the only one that thinks so, as both men and women try to sit as close to the man as possible. 

Either used to it or blissfully unaware, the beauty stares intensely at his phone, not paying attention to anyone. Every once in a while he smiles, but quickly bites it back only to smile again in a few seconds. All in all, Hongjoong finds him incredibly endearing. 

The meeting room door swings open and in walks Yoohyun, the short middle aged woman Hongjoong recalls meeting at his job interview a couple of weeks prior.

”Hello everyone it’s good to see you again. Almost all of you are familiar with this place already, but for those of you that aren’t, I will explain how this all works,” Yoohyun starts.

Hongjoong glances around the room. Most people look kind of bored already and he assumes that they’ve worked here before. 

”Everyone will be assigned one or multiple partners as well as a general idea of what their scene will be. After that you will meet with the people you’ve been assigned to, you will go over your script and develop it further to fit you. After that it’s just practice for the real thing. As you can tell, we’re not your typical haunted house, we like to mix in some theatrical elements too. We open for business on the 26th and we will work all through that week.”

The room is starting to get more energetic and some people are whispering amongst themselves.

”I’ll assign you your partners now!”

Hongjoong hears people groan as they get their assigned groups. He assumes most people wanted to be paired up with the handsome man across from him.

“This one will be unlike anything we’ve ever done before,” she takes a deep breath for dramatic effect. “Seonghwa and Hongjoong will pair up to play a vampire and his victim!”

Hongjoong looks around the room, trying to locate his new partner. The beauty -Seonghwa he assumes- stands up and gets a couple of papers from Yoohyun, then he takes a seat next to Hongjoong. 

The ripped jeans Seonghwa wears clings to his thighs in a way that forces Hongjoong to  _ respectfully _ glance away, before immediately stealing a glance again. 

It’s like a fight breaks out between Hongjoong’s don’t-objectify-hot-people brain and his gay lizard brain. 

***

Strings of curse words float around inside Hongjoong’s head as he stares at his lap. The pair moved to a small café to discuss their roles, but Hongjoong can’t even look at Seonghwa without his face heating up.

“Are you okay? I haven’t made you uncomfortable have I?” Seonghwa asks gently. 

“No!” Hongjoong blurts out without thinking, jerking his head up to meet Seonghwa’s eyes. “I’m fine. Just a bit nervous.” 

A light laugh escapes Seonghwa’s mouth and Hongjoong might as well be dead at this point. The sound makes his inside do flips and suddenly he’s right back to being a child and having his gay awakening; but instead of it being a pretty calm realization, it just takes the form of Hongjoong not being able to function.

Jesus  _ fuck _ he’s gay. 

“...oong?” Seonghwa’s voice calls from what feels like a distance. 

“Huh?”

“You sure you’re okay? We can meet up another time if you’re not feeling well.”

Fuck fuck fuck. Kind, hot, patient, this man all Hongjoong could ever want (he has pretty low standards at this point).

“I’m sorry, I kinda spaced out. Let’s start working,” Hongjoong forces out.

Seonghwa gives him a smile before pulling out the papers he got earlier. They detail their characters and the loose idea of the scene, as well as suggestions for lines.

Yoohyun seems to have already decided that Seonghwa will play the vampire, leaving Hongjoong as the victim.

Hongjoong has to admit that their concept is pretty cool. They have two scenes that they sort of alternate between. In the first, Hongjoong is supposed to run up behind the people getting scared -pretending to be one of them- and say that he got in a little late. They will walk for a little while before Seonghwa appears and “takes” Hongjoong from the group. In the second scene they will be together in a room, Hongjoong still pretending to not be an actor that got kidnapped, and he will try to escape, only for Seonghwa to get him again.

Hongjoong would have been a lot more calm if his partner for this thing wasn’t Seonghwa. Especially since their scenes will have to get a little… handsy. On the other hand, he’s silently thanking every god he can think of for pairing him up with Seonghwa. If Hongjoong has to be fake kidnapped by someone he’s glad that it’s by the tall dark haired man in front of him.

“This scene kind of calls for me to be a bit rough with you, so please tell me if I ever hurt you or you feel uncomfortable and we’ll figure something,” Seonghwa says after a moment of silence.

Hongjoong has to actively force his lizard brain to not think too hard about what Seonghwa just said. 

“I will, thank you.” Hongjoong gives him an appreciative smile. 

At the end of their meetup Seonghwa gives Hongjoong his number and tells him to “just hit him up if he has any questions about the job or wants to discuss something about their scenes”. To say that a part of Hongjoong’s soul ascended to gay heaven right at that moment would not be an overstatement. 

  
  


Turns out Hongjoong and Seonghwa work really well together, the latter seemingly unaware of Hongjoong’s face heating up multiple times every time they meet.

On a particularly dark and stormy night (in true halloween fashion), Hongjoong ends up at the café he and Seonghwa first went to.

He’s so tired and all he wants is to go home, but the storm outside has rain the size of marbles hitting the ground rapidly. Not only that, it’s so dark and foggy that Hongjoong feels like he might just go missing if he goes out alone. Did he mention that he’s scared of the dark? And thunderstorms?

The bell on the door chimes as someone walks in. Hongjoong looks up lazily to see what other poor soul has ended up here.

To his surprise it’s Seonghwa. He’s completely drenched, but he still looks gorgeous, black hair wet and resting messily over his forehead.  _ Fuck _ .

Seonghwa orders something quickly before looking around the café. His eyes land on Hongjoong, who’s already looking his way. A smile forms on Seonghwa’s face as he walks over.

“Didn’t think I’d end up seeing you here,” Seonghwa says.

“I was just camping out here until the storm calms down a little,” Hongjoong explains. Seonghwa’s face falls into a frown.

“You know that they close in like 15 minutes right?”

_ Shit _

“Oh… I guess I’ll just- just walk home then.” Hongjoong curses under his breath as he stands up, grabbing his coat.

Seonghwa’s hand wraps around Hongjoong’s wrist as he starts to walk away. His fingers wrap all the way around and Hongjoong melts a little on the inside.

“Wait! Do you live far away? I don’t feel too great about letting you walk alone in this weather,” Seonghwa says and Hongjoong swears his heart just skipped multiple beats.

“It’s a 30 minute walk and I don’t really have anywhere else to go, so I’ll just have to suffer it out I guess,” Hongjoong laughs awkwardly, fidgeting with his fingers.

“You could stay with me!” Seonghwa says hurriedly. “I mean- I uh, live in the apartment over this place. It really wouldn’t be a problem.”

The beating of Hongjoong’s heart is loud in his ears as he blanks for a few seconds.

Did Seonghwa just invite him to stay over?

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude…”

Hongjoong desperately wishes that Seonghwa doesn’t change his mind, but he still feels weird about accepting right away. 

“Of course! I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I let you leave and you ended up getting hurt.”

  
  
  


Seonghwa’s apartment looks very much like how Hongjoong had imagined it to. Clean. Sophisticated. What he didn’t expect however, was for it to be a one room apartment, meaning he would have to share a room with Seonghwa. 

Hongjoong’s face flushes merely at the thought.

“I can sleep on the floor, you take the bed,” Seonghwa says like he knew what Hongjoong was thinking about.

“No! It’s your home, I can sleep on the floor,” Hongjoong counters quickly.

Seonghwa lets out a light laugh. “I had a feeling you would say that. Let’s just share the bed then.”

Is Hongjoong dreaming?

“O-okay.”

Laying down next to Seonghwa makes Hongjoong feel like he’s about to explode. All of a sudden he’s aware of every breath he takes and every time he moves. The bed smells so much like Seonghwa and Hongjoong almost feels drunk on it (he also feels like a creep for thinking about it). 

Faintly he can feel the heat as it radiates off of Seonghwa’s body, the gap between them being fairly small. 

It doesn’t help Hongjoong’s ever increasing heart rate that Seonghwa sleeps shirtless. On top of it he’s in great shape, and the small glance Hongjoong got before respectfully glancing away, made Hongjoong’s lizard brain go wild.

Thunder roars suddenly, surprising Hongjoong enough to have him letting out a scared yelp. He clasps his hands over his mouth, closing his eyes and hoping that Seonghwa didn’t hear him.

“Hongjoong? Are you okay?” Seonghwa asks quietly.

“Yeah I- ah!” Hongjoong is interrupted by another rumble. “I just got startled,” Hongjoong says. He feels embarrassed. 

“Are you scared of thunderstorms?”

Hongjoong doesn’t answer, just nodding, even though Seonghwa probably can’t see him.

Seonghwa turns around, lying on his side to face Hongjoong. It’s so dark that Hongjoong can only just about make out Seonghwa’s features. A little light reflects into his eyes from the window

and Hongjoong feels like he’s being looked right through.

Warmth envelopes Hongjoong’s right hand and he looks down only to see Seonghwa’s, resting securely on top of it.

“Don’t worry, I’m here,” Seonghwa murmurs.

If that doesn’t make Hongjoong’s heart escape his chest, he doesn’t know what will. He wonders if Seonghwa can hear the way his heart is beating.

“Just sleep Hongjoong, I’ll protect you.”

Seonghwa’s fingers lace up with Hongjoong’s own and he gives a light squeeze.

_ I’ll protect you _

They don’t talk about the hand holding the next day and Hongjoong’s heart sinks a little. Maybe it was naive of him to think Seonghwa could possibly have meant more than to comfort him for the night.

Things aren’t… awkward per se, but they’re definitely not the way they used to be. Hongjoong doesn’t really know what to do about it, so he just sort of tiptoes around Seonghwa when they’re not working.

It works great until halloween week, when they’re working all night, every night.

They’re all standing ready for the first group of people to enter and Hongjoong almost shakes out of nervousness.

He takes the screams in front of him as his cue to exit his hiding place and run up behind the group.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Hongjoong calls, faking being out of breath.

He makes small talk with the group as they continue walking through the long dark hallways. They seem to be buying the whole I-came-in-late thing.

Hongjoong’s heart rate picks up the closer they get to Seonghwa.

_ 3…  _

Taking a deep breath, Hongjoong quickly runs through everything they’re about to do.

_ 2…  _

They round the corner and are faced with a dark hallway. But not for long.

_ 1…  _

Seonghwa bursts out from behind a curtain right next to them. The group scream and distance themselves as far as possible from Seonghwa.

Hongjoong looks around for just a second before he feels one of Seonghwa’s hands snake around his waist and the other loosely wrapping around his neck.

“Help!” Hongjoong screams with fake desperation at the people in his group. They all look at eachother, clearly not knowing what to do.

Seonghwa drags Hongjoong with him behind the curtain and the group scream for him to let Hongjoong go.

With their first scene a success, Hongjoong feels slightly less nervous about the second one. 

When another group passes through their area, Hongjoong runs out to them, begging them to save him from Seonghwa. He even shakes a little for added realism.

“Thought you could run away from me?” Seonghwa’s sweet voice echoes through the room and suddenly he’s right behind Hongjoong.

He grabs Hongjoong roughly and pretends to bite at Hongjoong’s neck, but instead biting down on the blood capsule in his mouth causing blood to flow from his mouth and down Hongjoong’s neck.

The group screams when Hongjoong collapses to the floor.

***

The week passes in a blur and in the blink of an eye Hongjoong and Seonghwa find themselves done with their last scene.

Using a paper towel, Hongjoong wipes the fake blood from his neck, groaning at the stains it leaves on his skin.

After changing into their everyday clothes, the pair heads to the exit.

“So, what do you think? Will you come back next year?” Seonghwa asks as they get to the door.

“I mean I-” Hongjoong stops when Seonghwa struggles with the door handle. “Is it stuck?”

Seonghwa pushes roughly at the door with his shoulder.

“You’ll hurt yourself, we should call someone. My phone is in the staff room, do you have yours?” Hongjoong says.

“Mine is there too…” Seonghwa sighs, leaning back against the door.

_ oh _

“Does that mean we’re… stuck?”

“I think so.”

Hongjoong sits down next to Seonghwa, carding his fingers through his hair. For a moment he fiddles with the edges of his sleeves.

This is certainly not how he imagined spending halloween. 

The lights go out suddenly and Hongjoong flinches slightly. Still glowing faintly above them is the emergency exit light and Hongjoong huddles closer to Seonghwa.

“Hongjoong?” Seonghwa says, breaking the silence. “Will you come back next year?”

“I don’t know. Will you?”

Seonghwa clears his throat. “I will if you do.”

"Huh?”

“I want to see you again.” Hongjoong feels his face heat up. Suddenly he’s thankful for the lack of light.

“You do?” Seonghwa chuckles, turning to look at Hongjoong.

“I do.”

“Me too.” Hongjoong inches his hand closer to Seonghwa’s, but he doesn’t dare grab it. “I, uh, I really like you, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong stutters out.

Seonghwa’s smile grows. “I like you too.” He grabs Hongjoong’s hand, intertwining their fingers.

For a moment they just look at each other. Hongjoong feels like he’s dreaming. Kind, handsome, thoughtful Seonghwa  _ likes  _ him.  _ Him _ . 

“Can I kiss you?” Seonghwa whispers.

“Yes.”

It’s only a brief meeting of lips, but it makes Hongjoong  _ so _ happy. 

Seonghwa’s warm against him and when he brings his hand to Hongjoong’s cheek, a shiver runs down Hongjoong’s spine.

“I’m so happy,” Hongjoong murmurs, resting his head against Seonghwa’s shoulder. 

Seonghwa shifts, resting his head against Hongjoong’s. “Me too.”

Hongjoong thanks his past self for taking the job at the haunted house as he drifts off next to Seonghwa.

_  
Maybe it wasn’t so bad being a broke college student if this is what it led to. _


End file.
